Cheesy New York high rise club

The other day, a friend called from Mumbai to say that he wanted to take us out for lunch. We fixed the date and the time, but his flight got delayed, and we ended up meeting for a late lunch. The problem was that at the stroke of one, my stomach started clamouring for food. So I had a light meal before I went to meet him. And then, of course, I wasn’t all that hungry when we finally met at a five-star coffee shop, and I ended up asking for a plate of club sandwiches.

ALL STAR AVO DOG

I have a thing for club sandwiches. I like the many layers of the sandwich — from the lettuce at the bottom to the fried egg on top. I like the piece of ham that nestles in between, the tomato and onion rings and everything that goes with it — from the ketchup to the mustard. But this club sandwich was a bit of a disappointment. A club sandwich should be so big that you have to open your mouth really wide for your first juicy bite. This one, instead, came with four modest looking triangles with the usual stuffing.

But it set me thinking. We tend to look down upon sandwiches — you know, sort of treat them as an also-ran in a competition of entrées. But I think that’s grossly unfair to the poor sandwich. A sandwich is not just great comfort food, but it can be exotic as well.

Pinwheel sandwich

Niladri Chakraborty, the executive chef at The Kenilworth in Calcutta, has been giving some thought to sandwiches as well. He has a list of what he calls world sandwiches. He makes a cheesy New York high rise club, which consists of bacon, ham, a fried egg, red cheddar cheese, gherkins and iceberg lettuce, and an all star avo dog, which is a sandwich with avocado salsa, tomato salsa, sour cream and a chicken frankfurter. The list includes the California classic ham sandwich, with ham, egg and lettuce, and a beef steak submarine, with grilled tenderloin and grilled onion rings (see recipes).

The great thing is that sandwiches are really very easy to make. I remember one hot summer day when a group of three hungry youngsters came home (unannounced, I may add) to collect donations for a cause. One of them was a friend’s son whose fondness for food was legendary. I could tell that the three were famished, so I rustled up a few sandwiches for them. I had tins of corned beef and luncheon meat, which I sautéed with onions. I added some mustard to the meat, a wee bit of ketchup, and a generous helping of freshly ground pepper. The stuffing went between two slices of multigrain bread softened with mayo, and within minutes I had a heap of sandwiches for them.

If you like your sandwiches, you should keep your larder stocked with ingredients such as mayo, mustard, horseradish sauce, gherkins, tins of tuna, luncheon meat, ham, olive in brine and so on. Horseradish mayo is a delicious paste for sandwiches. You can keep your iceberg lettuce in an airtight bag in the fridge, and it will stay crunchy for days. For the casing, you can use anything — from brown bread to hot dog or hamburger buns, focaccia and tortillas.

Tortillas, in fact, make interesting sandwiches. Smear one with peanut butter and top with banana slices and raisin. Roll it up and cut it into two — and you’ll have a wonderful pair of sandwiches, with gooey banana oozing out of the sides.

You can make pinwheel sandwiches by rolling long strips of sliced bread like a yule log and cutting it into two or three pieces. Chef Chakraborty uses herbed butter — something like red butter, which is butter flavoured with paprika — for his pinwheel sandwiches.

These days, I get a little nostalgic when I think of sandwiches. My favourite sandwich-maker, a genial old gent called Shanti Swarup, is up there in the great sky, no doubt lovingly spreading tuna on slices of soft white bread. He used to run a sandwich shop in Delhi where you got the most delicious ham, chicken and tuna sandwiches, served with a tart green chutney. Sandwiches were his passion, and he could hold forth for hours on what made a good sandwich.

He is gone, but the legacy that he’s left behind flourishes. Every time I eat a soft sandwich, I raise a toast — literally — to the man who loved sandwiches.

Onion and pepper beef submarine

Ingredients (for one)

1 piece submarine bread (foot-long)
150gm tenderloin
40gm iceberg lettuce
40gm onion rings
5 slices tomato
10gm mustard dressing
20gm butter
Salt, to taste
Pepper, a pinch
20ml oil
30ml red wine l5gm rosemary

Method

Marinate the tenderloin with salt, pepper, rosemary and red wine for an hour. Remove from the marinade and grill. Cut into thin slices. Cut bread horizontally. Toast the two pieces and butter. Take a slice of bread. Put lettuce, tomatoes, salt and pepper on a slice. Add tenderloin slices and grilled onion rings. Finish with mustard dressing. Cover with another slice and cut diagonally into halves. Serve with hot potato wedges.

California classic ham

Ingredients (for one)

2 slices of brown bread
3 pieces of tomato, thinly sliced
1 crisp leaf of iceberg lettuce
1 slice smoked ham
1 slice American cheddar cheese (optional)
10gm butter
Salt, to taste
Pepper, a pinch
Oil, for frying
1 egg

Method

Butter the bread lightly. Take a slice of bread and put the lettuce and tomato slices on it. Add salt and pepper. Top with a slice of ham. Now heat oil in a pan. Break an egg and fry it. Place that on top of the ham. Add the cheese if you wish to. Cover with the other slice of bread. Cut diagonally into half and serve with hot French fries.